In brief: County Republicans choose new leader

In a close vote Saturday, the Spokane County Republican Party replaced its chairwoman with the former mayor of Airway Heights.

Precinct committee officers voted 91-85 for Matthew Pederson, a current Airway Heights city councilman, over the incumbent leader, Cindy Zapotocky. Heading into the race, Zapotocky was seen to have backing from the grass roots of the party while Pederson was supported by many elected Republicans, including Spokane City Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin.

Supporters of Zapotocky said she was a tireless advocate for GOP candidates and stood up for concerns from the grass roots. Opponents argued that she was divisive and unable to bring unity to the party.

Pederson said Saturday he’s confident that the party will unite with the new leadership team. The new vice chairwoman is Laurie Roth, a conservative talk show host based in Elk. Roth has backing from some tea party supporters and on her website accuses President Barack Obama of attempting to turn the United States into a communist-style regime.

Arrest made in sports cards theft

Spokane Valley police on Thursday arrested a man in connection with the theft of thousands of dollars worth of collectible sports cards.

According to a news release, Collector’s Corner at 106 N. Evergreen Road was burglarized on Oct. 26 and lost nearly $10,000 worth of high-end sports cards. Two days later, Gameday Sports Cards, 9425 N. Division St., reported $400 worth of cards missing after a burglary. Then on Nov. 3, Spokane Valley Sportscards, 9411 E. First Ave., lost cards valued at nearly $5,000.

Robert J. Frates, 27, of Spokane, went to Sports Cards Northwest, 13800 E. Sprague Ave., on Nov. 11 and offered to trade some cards for other merchandise. The owner recognized the cards as some of the ones that had been stolen and called police.

Frates was arrested Thursday and booked into Spokane County Jail on a charge of first-degree possession of stolen property, according to police. He remains in jail on $40,000 bond.

Cremated remains returned to widow

A man’s cremated remains that were taken in a Tuesday burglary were returned to his widow Saturday.

The woman called Spokane police Tuesday to report the burglary. Saturday, a caller reported seeing several items in a Dumpster near the Wendy’s at 9100 N. Newport Highway. Police responded and identified the items, including the ashes, as stolen, according to a news release. Spokane police Officer Jim Stewart called the burglary victim, who was able to reclaim her husband’s remains.

Rains bring threat of floods, slides

SEATTLE – A wet Pacific storm dumped heavy rain across the Pacific Northwest, soaking parts of southwest Washington and threatening to trigger landslides and flood Portland suburbs and small towns along three rivers.

Mudslides on Saturday forced officials to cancel Amtrak Cascades train service between Seattle and Portland through Monday, the Washington State Department of Transportation said.

Weather forecasters said the Chehalis, Snohomish and Snoqualmie rivers were expected to flood by today or Monday as rainstorms dump more than half a foot of water in a 24-hour period.

Portland officials were concerned about the 26-mile-long Johnson Creek, which is a flood-prone watershed that flows through low and heavily populated areas, including part of southeast Portland and the suburb of Gresham. The tributary empties into the Willamette River in suburban Milwaukie, about six miles south of downtown Portland.

Officials said residents in those flood-prone areas should be prepared to leave. In southwest Washington, the Chehalis River near Grand Mound was expected to reach major flood levels this afternoon and was forecast to crest at about 18 feet on Monday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Kirby Cook in Seattle said.

The Snohomish River was expected to follow a similar path, cresting at major flood stage around 19 feet on Monday near Snohomish and Monroe. The Snoqualmie River was expected to crest today in Carnation.

Officials were also closely watching the Skagit River in Skagit County.

Cook said flooding will likely be widespread as creeks and ponds are overloaded with runoff.

“We’re looking at the wettest storm system we’ve had in almost two years,” Cook said.

He described the storm system as a “plume of very moist, warm Pacific air.” Its relative warmth brought rain, not snow, into the Cascades, causing large runoff from the mountains, feeding and overwhelming rivers and creeks on the lowlands. The snow level, Cook said, was up to 10,000 feet by Saturday afternoon.

All counties in Western Washington were under a flood watch Saturday, Cook said. The wettest spots will be around Stevens Pass and the Olympic Mountains, he said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Elson in Portland said coastal Oregon rivers and tributaries of the Willamette River could rise out of their banks but that the flood threat wasn’t as severe as in Washington.